community state quit claim deed and mortgage

[tenshi_R]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

in community property state if only one spouse is on the title and on the mortgage and the other one is not on either but has signed quit claim deed
is that person responsible for mortgage after divorce?
for example if my the house loan is in my name and my cosigner which is not my spouse and the title is also in my name and cosigner's name and spouse who is not in any documents, signed quit claim deed.
is the house considered my separate property and the loan also my separate property?

is seems to be confusing since quit claim deed supposed to release any rights and responsibilities of the signing spouse but it conflicts with the laws in community state?
wouldn't the community state law make it illegal or fraudulent to have the lender offer quit claim deed if he knows the community state laws will overrule the document anyway?

I'm taking family law its just confusing as hell on this topic like when things get in conflict with state laws etc

 

[FlyingRon]

Some basic issues:

1. The mortgage names and cosigners don't have any real influence on the deed (though the reverse is not true).
2. A grantor on a quit claim deed doesn't make any representations that they actually have any ownership in the property being deeded, just that they are granting what ever interest they do have. There's never a "conflict" with a quit claim. It transfers whatever (if any) rights the signer has on it.

So, the question is, is this actually community property or not. If it was obtained subsequent to the marriage, it likely is regardless of how it was deeded.

Then if subsequently one of the spouses signs a quit claim, it indeed will transfer away their community interest in the property.
If it wasn't community property (i.e., it was owned before marriage) and the spouse wasn't an owner, a quit claim means nothing (other than to make the fact that it is not a community asset explicit).

Note there is not any single deed that matters. The chain of title is the sequence of deeds through history of each person conveying some or all of their interest in a property to someone else. It is not like a car title.

 

[tenshi_R]

Then if subsequently one of the spouses signs a quit claim, it indeed will transfer away their community interest in the property.

so only the interest in property itself is transferred to the other party but the mortgage is still community property even though only in one spouse's name.
and both parties are responsible for mortgage after divorce anyway. correct?

house is purchased during marriage of course.
if if was before it wouldn't be community property right? or is it up to judge?

 

[tenshi_R]

I know its somewhere in RCW but the language is complicated. I never even read legal documents before I started taking this course and its a pain in the ass to try to understand it correctly

I think I found the rcw but I barely understand what exactly it means lol.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=26.16.050

 

[FlyingRon]

It just says that you can deed away community property to the spouse (making it the seperate property of them). The rest of the statement says that doing such a deed doesn't get you out of having the property considered for satisfying any actions against you for community debts.

OK? Now I'm done with the hypothetical. If you have a REAL situation that you are concerned about, you'll have to spell it out. I'm not writing articles on how deeds and community property transfers work in general.

 

[tenshi_R]

well this is a real situation. and I'm taking the class as well but its a bit confusing.

about the mortgage part

mortgage and title is in one spouse's name only and quit claim deed signed by the other.

from what I understand so far during a divorce the person who signed quit claim deed doesn't get any part of the property but is still responsible for the mortgage debt since its a community property.

and I'm not sure what happends when property gets sold after divorce.

 

[FlyingRon]

well this is a real situation. and I'm taking the class as well but its a bit confusing.

about the mortgage part

mortgage and title is in one spouse's name only and quit claim deed signed by the other.

from what I understand so far during a divorce the person who signed quit claim deed doesn't get any part of the property but is still responsible for the mortgage debt since its a community property.

and I'm not sure what happends when property gets sold after divorce.

Well if it is real you have to explain just what is going on. A deed doesn't change the mortgage. You didn't indicate the time line. When was the house bought. When were they married. When was the QC executed. When were they divorced? Was their a property settlement?

 

[tenshi_R]

Well if it is real you have to explain just what is going on. A deed doesn't change the mortgage. You didn't indicate the time line. When was the house bought. When were they married. When was the QC executed. When were they divorced? Was their a property settlement?

ok I wasn't sure what kind of info you were asking for

house was purchased 2 years ago, married for 5 years have 1 child (4 year old)
quit claim deed was signed with the purchase of the house with only one spouse being on the loan and title of the house, due to other spouse's lack of income history to get a better loan. not divorced yet but will be in near future.
we were under assumption that when they said releases all interest they meant plain and simple. the house belongs to one person with the mortgage etc.

sorry for confusion lol I thought I had all details needed there for you..

 

[FlyingRon]

You still seem incapable of articulating what is going on.

Let me take a wild ass guess (which usually I'm not inclined to do).

You and your husband got married.
Your credit sucks.
He buys the house in his name and is the only one on the mortgage.

In this case the property (unless he used money that came from some premarital source or inheritance to him alone) is still community property.

You then at some point and for some bizarre reason quit claimed your interest to him.

Alas, that changes it from community property to his separate property. You now have ZERO interest in it.

The rub here is that DEEDS don't change the debt. The mortgage can still be considered a community debt that you are responsible for (and could be part of a property settlement).

You should take this deed to your divorce attorney. It's not clear why you executed it.

 

[tenshi_R]

during the purchase I wasn't told I had a choice. they made it sound like I had to sign it to get this done.

I just looked at the purchase sale agreement and it says under buyer " a married person as his/hers separate property"

I'm trying to find the quit claim deed for some reason I don't see It in our copy of the documents

 

[FlyingRon]

In that case you might be able to argue that this debt was never a community debt as it was specifically acquired to obtain separate property. I was thinking you signed the quit claim at some subsequent time than the time of purchase.